The European Council has formally adopted new regulations enforcing strict circularity requirements for vehicle design and the management of end-of-life vehicles, aiming to push the automotive sector towards greater sustainability. The new rules mandate that vehicles must be designed and manufactured to facilitate reuse, recycling, and recovery from the outset.
Under the new framework, circularity requirements will span the entire life cycle of a vehicle. Six years after the rules come into force, at least 15 per cent of plastic used in new vehicles must originate from recycling, rising to 25 per cent within a decade. Additionally, a minimum of 20 per cent of this recycled plastic must be sourced directly from end-of-life vehicles.
Car manufacturers will face extended producer responsibility, making them both financially and organisationally accountable for their vehicles through to the waste stage. This includes covering the costs of free vehicle take-back and ensuring proper treatment at authorised facilities.
The legislation also targets the problem of missing vehicles that are illegally dismantled or exported. Once a vehicle is officially classified as waste, it must undergo processing at an authorised facility, effectively banning its legal export or resale as a used car. Furthermore, the export of non-roadworthy used vehicles is banned entirely to prevent pollution in third countries and retain valuable materials within the EU.
While passenger cars and light commercial vans must comply fully with the new rules, heavy-duty vehicles, motorcycles, and special-purpose vehicles will face a more limited set of treatment requirements.
This decision marks the final step in the ordinary legislative procedure, with the rules taking effect two years after entry into force. Within one year, the European Commission will complete a feasibility study to determine future recycling targets for other materials, including steel, aluminium, magnesium, and critical raw materials. Currently, the EU generates more than six million end-of-life vehicles annually, a figure that has driven this legislative push to curb pollution and material loss in the resource-intensive automotive manufacturing sector.
